What is a charcuterie board?
Charcuterie (pronounced "shahr-ku-tuh-ree") originated in France and is a French tradition of preparing and assembling meats and meat products. Today, this tradition has evolved outside of France and has now developed into an assortment of foods, including meats, cheeses, breads, olives, fruits, nuts and more. They have become a staple in our home for hanging out with friends, football Sunday's, family gatherings and everything in between. Theses boards are so fun to piece together and allows you to lean in to your creative and artistic side of food preparation. I aim to have a balance of savory and sweet flavors!
Pick your boards and other dishes
I typically stick with larger cutting boards for the base, but you can use plates, baking sheets, pans, serving trays or anything else that you have on hand. I also use small bowls to give the board some depth.
Ingredients
When it comes to the food, I like to have a balance of savory and sweet items. You can base your board around a theme, holiday, or season (i.e. brunch board - such a fun idea).
My boards typically include meats, cheeses, fresh fruit, nuts, crackers, a veggie and a dip. For example, the picture above has an assortment of foods like summer sausage, smoked turkey, Colby-jack cheese, whole-wheat and gluten-free crackers, fresh fruit, veggies and fruit dip.
Meats/Cheeses
I love to add protein to these boards. Look for low-sodium deli meats, lean meats, and fresh shaved deli meats at the meat counter. Some good options include turkey and chicken breasts. We will use any cheese because neither of us are lactose intolerant. Colby-jack, pepper jack, swiss, muenster or mozzarella are our favorites. For my lactose intolerant peeps, goat cheeses are a good option because goat milk contains less lactose and will likely cause less inflammation/ intolerance.
Crackers
We love any whole-grain/whole-wheat crackers. Some brands we love include Mary's Gone Crackers and Back 2 Nature Foods.
Nuts/Seeds
Nuts and seeds are a great healthy fat and include a variety of antioxidants. Almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, and cashews.
Sweets
Like I mentioned, I love the sweet and savory combo. Fresh berries and dark chocolate are our favorites to add to our boards. We typically include Honeycrisp apples, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and kiwi. My favorite dark chocolate is Lily's Sweets.
Putting it all together
My favorite part of putting these boards together is getting creative with the way things are sliced and placed. Take you time arranging your board. Move your ingredients around and experiment with what looks best. For example, take a thinly sliced item like crackers, and place it next to a thicker item like veggies or fruit. Try not to leave any blank spaces. Fill in the small spaces with smaller items like blueberries, nuts, seeds, small decorations like flowers etc. Pay attention to detail and switch things up to give your board more dimension.